Publikationen

Anne-France Maurer

Research Synopsis

My broad interests lie in the physico-chemical analyses of different types of human remains and environmental materials to investigate the lifestyle of ancient populations such as the Neolithic (France, Germany, Mauritania), the Chupicuaro (Mexico), the Dogon and Tellem (Mali) and the Lombards (Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary). These studies aim to reconstruct:

technical habits: by the examination of the crystallinity of experimental and archaeological bone tools to look for an intentional heat-treatment (Neolithic, France, Germany)
dietary habits: by the investigation of the geochemical composition (trace elements and light stable isotopes, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) of archaeological human bones (Chupicuaro; Dogon/Tellem; Neolithic, Mauritania)
mobility (current research): by the analysis of geological and biological samples to delimitate the regional variability of the isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹⁸O) near archaeological sites in order to determine local from foreign individuals deduced from the geochemical-anthropological study (C. Knipper) (Lombard project).

A challenging part of my work consists in improving methods and strategies to extract a valuable signal from the samples of which new insights about past populations are inferred. I am especially interested in the characterization (mineralogical, histological and geochemical) and the quantification of bone post mortem transformations, as well as in the control of a potential evolution of the strontium isotopic ratio of some modern environmental samples.

Publications

In review:

(1) Maurer A-F, Galer SJG, Knipper C, Beierlein L, Nunn EV, Peters D, Tütken T, Alt KW and Schöne BR. Preservation vs. anthropogenic contamination of the natural bioavailable strontium in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and implications for generating isoscapes in past migration studies. Science of the Total Environment.

Peer-reviewed:

(4) Maurer A-F, Gerard M, Person A, Barrientos I, del Carmen Ruiz P, Darras V, Durlet C, Zeitoun V, Renard M and Faugère B. Intra-skeletal variability in the geochemical composition of Precolumbian Chupicuaro human bones: the record of post-mortem alteration and a tool for palaeodietary reconstruction. Journal of Archaeological Science 38, 1784-1797

(3) Knipper C, Maurer A-F, Peters D, Meyer C, Brauns M, Galer SG, von Freeden U, Schöne BR and Alt KW 2011. Mobility in Thuringia or mobile Thuringians: a strontium isotope study from early Medieval central Germany. In: W Schier, J Burger, E Kaiser (Eds), Migrations in Prehistory and Early History. Stable Isotopes and Population Genetics. TOPOI. Berlin Studies of the Ancient World, 293-317.

(2) Schöne BR, Zhang Z, Radermacher P, Thébault J, Jacob D, Nunn EV and Maurer A-F 2010. Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca ratios of ontogenetically old, long-lived bivalve shells (Arctica islandica) and their function as paleotemperature proxies. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, in press (doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2010.03.016).

(1) Ségalen L, de Rafélis M, Lee-Thorp JA, Maurer A-F and Renard M 2008. Cathodoluminescence tools provide clues to depositional history in Miocene and Pliocene teeth. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 266, 246-253.

Oral presentations held at international conferences

(6) Knipper C, Peters D, Maurer A-F, Meyer C, Brauns M, Klaus S, von Freeden U, Lüth F, Schöne B, Bemmann J, Dresely V and Alt KW 2009. "The Langobards’ migration: An isotope case study from early medieval central Europe. Project conception and first results." 8. Internationaler Kongress der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, München, Germany, 15.-18. September 2009. Abstract published in Bulletin der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Anthropologie 14, 16 (2008).

(5) Maurer A-F, Person A, Gerard M, Lecornec F and Darras V 2009. "Geochemistry of chupicuaros’ bones: a taphonomic and dietary history." 53^rd ICA International Congress of Americanists session Arqueologia, 19 - 24 July 2009, Mexico City.

(4) Gerard M, Pilorge T, Maurer A-F, Durlet C and Person A 2009. "Geochemistry and mineralogy of the hydrothermal system of the Acambaro valley: a reference for the Chupicuaro environment." 53^rd ICA International Congress of Americanists session Arqueologia, 19 - 24 July 2009, Mexico City.

(3) Durlet C, Bichet V, Gerard M and Maurer A-F 2009. "The hydrothermal carbonated complexes in the Acambaro Valley: precolumbian and modern human impacts." 53^rd ICA International Congress of Americanists session Arqueologia, 19 - 24 July 2009, Mexico City.

(2) Maurer A-F, Person A, Zeitoun V and Renard M 2009. "Conservation of the biological-geochemical signals in archaeological human bones as assessed by intraskeletal studies." 6^th Bone Diagenesis Meeting, 18-21 September 2009, Bonn.

(1) Maurer A-F, Person A, Zeitoun V, Labourdette N, Le Cornec F, Gerard M and Renard M 2005. "Two steps/two scales to estimate diagenetic features of bone in Saharan context." First international workshop on taphonomy and biogeochemistry applied to human and environmental sciences, 30 May - 1 June 2005, Paris.